Peppermint Demon
by TheMasterPlan7823
Summary: Ekko isn't like other people in the land of OoO. He wasn't born, he was grown in a vat, and he has a nasty habit of getting into trouble wherever he goes...
1. Daily routine

My eyes seemed weary from a lack of sleep, or at least that's what they'd have me believe, those candy people. Their Princess is the one who keeps visiting me and preforming test on me, all I do is follow the doc's orders so I can go back to sleep. She doesn't let me outside, but she lets me access her library, so I can't really complain. But the social inactivity is bothering me some, and talking to the same three people doesn't help. I'm just going to sleep now...

"Good morning, Sir Ekko!"

I woke up with a quick jolt as the peppermint butler jabbed me in the side. The smell of some sweet soup filled the air. I took the food and set it on the table adjacent to my bed, grabbed a spoon and started eating.

"How are you feeling, Ekko." He asked.

"Like a rat in a cage, Pep. Did she consider my request?" I asked, staring into the soup.

Peppermint butler laughed, "That she did, in fact, I suspect that Princess Bubblegum will require your help today."

I smiled, "Is that what all those swordplay sessions were for?"

Pep nodded and snapped his fingers, two banana guards walked in, both carrying a silver case. Pep raised his hand and the guards laid the case on my bed. I got up after finishing my food and popped open the case, there were two swords and a white and red coat. One of the swords is curved with a black and red blade, it's hilt was circular with a metal dragon tied mouth to tail and had two smaller blades on the sides, the other is a simple straight sword, it's handle suited for one hand and no more, eagle wings made the cross guard and a eagles head on the pommel. The coat, like I said, white and red, with a series of buttons on the front, red lined the edges of the coat, and oversized cufflinks and collar. There was nothing to put over it, so I put on the coat first and tied the sword sheathes to my belt, swords still inside, of course.

"What's the problem?" I asked.

"There is a monster approaching from the west, and we barely have enough soldiers from the last attack. The princess needs your help." Pep said with a sense that he's expecting me to go along with it.

I smiled and nodded yes, anything to get away from this room. If you'd be in the situation that you start counting all of the cracks in your walls, then welcome to my world. Pep brought me to a room filled with maybe twenty banana guards and a marshmallow archer, with the princess herself standing in the middle of the room, at some type of stand, she had a projector running and playing a slideshow of the thing we'll be playing with for the next few hours. Some kind of mass made up of tentacles, mouths, and eyes, there was no consistency in its look, though I doubt this creature is of any 'natural' origin. Most likely summoned by magic or some form of science.

"...And the one to lead the front lines will be Ekko!" Bubblegum said.

My eyes were drawn to her, she pointed a baton at me, so I walked up to her side, she is a few inches taller than me(she's 6'2, I'm 5'11), she introduced me and begun to explain my purpose, to summarize, I'm a last resort weapon to be used in case of a soldier shortage, not the most rewarding job... buuuuuut whatever... I get to properly stretch my legs, what more could I ask for? Besides complete national dictatorship... this is getting weird.

"Quickly! M'lady!" One of the banana guards shouted from the door, he was sweating bullets like a fat pig on a hot summers day.

Party's just begun, and someone forgot to bring drinks. Bubblegum, for some reason, likes treating me like I am her son. For example, she straightens my collar and pats my cheeks like I'm a little child. Which, to some degree, I can't argue with it being false, but she didn't make me the old fashioned way, I was grown in a vat, but what materials were used are unknown to me. Either I'm made from scratch or made with an already existing concept, but it doesn't matter right now, we got monsters to kill. I drew my swords and briskly walked towards gate, I saw the creature destroying the environment as it writhed across the earth, so I waited until it came closer. It took a while, but it arrived, the walls crumbled when it touched them. Candy citizens were running to the back gate in orderly fashion, oddly enough. The orderly bit not the... okay.

I gripped my swords tightly and dashed towards the monster, swinging with my right to left arm in rapid succession, cutting off as many tentacles as possible. But they seemed to be regrowing fast, little nubs popping out as soon as I cut them. I'm starting to realize my fight would be better taken in the air than the ground, so I ran for one of the stairways that would take me to the less crumpled bit of wall.

"Sir Ekko, we set up a ballista for you, tell us when to fire!" A banana guard said as soon as he noticed my presence.

"Wait for a clear shot at the eyes... Now!" I shouted while keeping a hand on my curved sword.

A pointed lollipop at the end of a long rope candy fired from the ballista, a straight shot! I jumped on the rope and ran at the monster, lucky me that other ballista were keeping it still. I jumped when I was fifteen feet away, on one of it's slithering appendages, I stabbed it with my straight sword and threw my curved sword at one of its opened eyes, the beast roared loadly in pain. This put a determined grin on my face, I was close to victory. I jumped with the other sword and spun in a cyclone motion, cutting through its eye and taking my curved sword in my right hand, I burrowed through its organs and popped out the other side, closer to the ground. I am victorious, and while the princess was still tending to the wounded soldiers, I thought nobody would mind if I slipped out for a while...

Bad idea.


	2. Escape pt 1

I found myself in my bed again, the note telling me that I shouldn't be running away was on my nightstand. Bubblegum hates it when I try to escape, saying that I'm not ready for the kind of perils out, and to further illustrate her point, she planted an electric chip in my neck that is activated whenever I walk outside the kingdom gates or remotely. There is some commotion outside my door, wonder what's going on.

Marceline POV

"Gosh darn it! Go away, Marceline!" P-Bubs shouted, getting slightly flustered.

I grabbed her shirt to keep her at bay, whatever 'at bay' means and chuckled, she knows she doesn't have means to get rid of me.

"I smell a newcomer, where you keeping him?" I smirked cruelly.

"How do you know he's a male?" Bubs questioned.

I pointed at my sniffer and pushed P Bubs away, she stumbled before regaining her balance and noticing the door I was in front of.

"Wait, don't..!"

Ekko POV

I got up and walked to the door, I was halfway there when it started getting hit by something really big, I think someone grabbed a battering ram and took a hefty amount of smack to the eyeballs. But... the princess abolished narcotics...

Oh no...

The door was kicked open with considerable force, in the doorway was the silhouette of a girl floating three inches off the ground, she had knee length black hair and was wearing a red plaid flannel over a grey tank top, blue jeans with a large leather bag tied to her belt loops, and brown combat boots. What confuses me is the eggshell colored skin, then I noticed the two punctures in her neck, definitely a vampire...

"What's up loser?" She said while lowering herself to the ground and walking over to me.

"I could be better, and who are you to show up to my room uninvited?" I replied with a smirk on my lips.

As soon as I was able to properly see her face, I noticed her expression, she had a look of confusion while she stared at me.

"So, are you... like a prisoner or something?" She asked.

"I think prisoner is over selling it, the princess would use the term 'guinea pig'." I replied, crossing my arms.

Bubblegum ran into the room with a angered expression, holding that cursed remote.

"Ekko, don't you dare go with her!" She yelled.

I reached quickly into my pocket for a pen, throwing it at Bubblegum's hand, the remote made a loud clunk as it hit the ground.

"Sorry, but I got big ambitions and I won't satisfy them if I'm just locked in a cage for the rest of my existence. I hope you understand." I said, looking through my bangs.

I had a scalpel I stole from the medical side of PB's lab, I traced it down the left side of my neck, blood trickled immediately, but I ignored the pain to focus on my real goal. I slowly dug my thumb and index finger into the hole to pull out a circular bit of metal, the electric chip. My wound healed immediately, the vampire had a impressed look, and PB looked like she was going to puke.

"And with this, I abolish all control you had on me!" I said before crushing the chip in my hand.

The princess ran out of the room, screaming for the guards.

"Yeesh, you think that was a bit much?" The vampire asked in a sassy tone.

"I didn't see you with a brighter idea, but I was planning this for a while. Thanks for reminding me of my plan, miss..." I stretched that last word.

"Marceline... You wanna get outta here?" She asked.

"If you can keep up!" I said while grabbing my coat and swords.

[Theme of a tragic revenge]

She smirked as I ran past her, she followed close behind, floating as fast as I could run. A few guards tried to stop me, but I just pushed them out of my way, they may be pointing sharp things at me but that doesn't mean I have to poke them with my sharp bits. We reached the front of the central hall, I noticed that someone had closed the gate on us.

Marceline POV

"Hey, you think you can open that?" Ekko asked as guardsmen closed in behind us.

"I'll do you one better!" I said before dropping to the ground and sprinting towards the metal bridge, quickly, I jumped and... "Vampire kick!"-ed a decent sized hole in the iron bridge.

I turned my head and saw Ekko doing one of those flip/spin jumps I see in those 'on ice' movies, overdone and tacky.

"Show off." I scoffed.

"I don't see how that is showing off when you did that!" He said as he landed on the ground from the far side of the gate.

More guards started swarming and the sun wasn't offering any useful advice, it was saying 'would it help if I burned your skin off?', so I grabbed the guy's arm and flew as fast as I could out of there, pulling a pair of gloves and a cap from my magic satchel of disbelief...

Ok, I pulled the hat from my side bag and the gloves from my bra, but what do you want? I got a image to keep up!

"You can fly?!" Ekko said over the sound of excessive G-force.

"What, you thought I could just float?" I replied, he answered with a sad nod.

I looked forward and kept flying, we were miles away from the candy kingdom and I doubt P-Bubs would send a search party after us, I like to keep myself hidden in a cave house for that very reason.

Now I will explain a thought that might interest you, this guy looks eerily familiar to a guy I knew when I was little, but that was nearly a millennium ago, so I doubt this guy is even human. The only human I know is hanging out in one of my old houses, and by know I mean 'am stalking', if we're going to be grammatically correct.

Title card saying 'thirty minutes later' and a guy reading it with a bored French accent

(Part 1/2 of the real intro)


	3. Escape pt 2

Ekko POV

Marceline dove headfirst into a small hole in the side of a mountain, whooping like a looney. She landed smoothly and I fell on my face, getting dragged through five feet of dirt, hitting my head on a small stair set.

"Here we are!" Marceline said triumphantly.

I poked my head up from the dirt pile and glared at her, she stared back all confused. I'd probably say she looked cute or something if I wasn't so angry.

"Yes, face down in the dirt..." I grumbled.

Marceline POV

Just as clumsy as the other guy, too... Sorry, reflecting on the past, something I wish I did less. Despite the fact that he tries to style himself as 'the baddest of asses', he still acts like a child, maybe they're both the same person...?

I know P Bubs does some crazy shit, but cloning? Doesn't seem so far fetched, now that I think about it. But, what the hey? I don't really interact much, when I do, it's with P Bubs or a market vendor. Not really the most social of butterflies...

"We going inside or what?" Ekko asked.

I quickly looked at him, "Huh? Oh, yeah." I tossed the keys to the front door his way, "Make yourself comfortable. I'll be there in a bit."

He walked up and opened the door, closing it behind him. I floated over to the tomato patch in my front garden and snagged three decent sized ones, sinking my teeth into one and sucking out the color. Tossing it behind me as I walked through the front door.

Ekko POV

Despite how small the place was, it had a chic sort of appeal. Not overly stylish, but it is heaven compared to my not-so-old room. Marceline came through the door with a tomato in each hand.

"I'm guessing that you eat stuff...?" She asked.

"Yeah, what do you have in the fridge?" I answered/asked while walking into the kitchen.

"Milk, a ton of different cheeses, eggs, bacon, tomato juice, ground beef in the freezer, onion, garlic..." She listed as she floated towards me and threw her flannel to the floor.

Garlic? Aren't vampires weakened by garlic? I asked her that and she replied with a chuckle.

"That's just superstition, vampires aren't weak to holy symbols, garlic, and silver like everyone would have you believe. But the sun is mildly irritating..." She pouted slightly.

"Bet that sucks..." I said as I pulled burger buns from the cupboard.

Marceline looked at me, looking so cute for being confused...

I really need to stop doing that.

"What're you doing?" She asked.

"I may be a few things, but a terrible cook is not one of them!" I said dramatically and stood in a dramatic pose.

"You want to make burgers? Do you know how?" Marceline asked.

I nodded vigorously as I put the bag on the table and went to look for a apron, I did find one, a black one that had white text on it.

'Kiss the jerk'

I laughed a bit, reminds me of this show I'd catch on occasion. I think it was cancelled a long time ago, sadly...

But really, am I here to complain about a cartoon or experience things? Thought so!

Marceline already brought the stuff out back, a mixing bowl, eggs, garlic powder, bread crumbs, and even already mashed up the beef, all I needed to do was mix. She took one look at me and started laughing, for some reason, this made me blush. I rolled up my sleeves and started mixing the meat with the powder and crumbs.

"I haven't seen that since I stopped seeing my ex! Lookin' good..." She said while holding her hand to her chin.

"You've dated somebody?" I asked while trying to hide the feeling unending jealously.

She looked at me like I was the biggest idiot in the land. "Of course I did! I'm over a thousand years old."

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Did you guys hav-"

Marceline POV

I slapped him in the face before he could finish, no way I will be answering that! But in actuality, I never 'slept' with Ash in the way he's implying. I mean I did sleep with him, but...

This is getting weird.

"Mind getting a cookie sheet? I'll need plastic wrap over it." Ekko asked.

"Sure..." I think I get it now, he has probably never spoken to people in however long he's been alive, with the exception of Bubs and Peppermint butler.

He has no idea how to properly talk to people! So he'll be incredibly blunt when talking to anyone, and he'll come off as rude because of it. He quickly threw six decent sized meat balls on the sheet before flattening them and running to the freezer and putting them in there. He also dove into the fridge and grabbed four white soda cans. He handed one to me and placed two of them on the counter inside.

"So, how long are we waiting on those things?" I asked.

"Thirty minutes." He bluntly replied before yawning.

He took a seat at the table and put his head in folded arms before falling asleep. I walked over to him and brought a seat to sit next to him, lowering my head to be at his eye level. Dear Christ, they look so similar, same hair and body shape, the only difference is the colors. The other guy had peach skin and more black and blue in his color scheme, even had the decency to put a shirt on, this guy is the total opposite of that, looks like he ran into a peppermint themed wardrobe at full speed after leaving a gothic themed S&M party.

He's cute though, in a weird way, he's strange like me.

Ekko POV

Marceline pinched me awake, and before I could ask how long I've been asleep...

"You've been sleeping for twenty nine minutes, it's burger time."

I quickly scrambled to get the grill started and a platter of add-on's and condiments. But in my haste I may have burnt the burgers, though it was pretty hard to tell, it's crazy dark in this cave as time nears nightfall. But I managed my first 'away from home' dinner, the first of many, I hope. After dinner, we both leaned in our chairs, belching in satisfaction.

"Your cooking is killer." Marceline said, rubbing her stomach before burping loudly and doing that thing with your fingers when you make a 'o' with your index finger and thumb while you point the other three upwards.

I leaned forward into the table lowering my head while chuckling to myself.

"Not bad for a first timer, eh?" I snarkily asked.

She didn't answer, but floated past me and firmly patted my shoulder while yawning.

"I'm gonna try and catch some Z's, lemme know if you need anything." She said as she flew upstairs, before I had the chance to ask, she had already thrown a blanket down and shut the trapdoor to her room. I picked up the blanket and ran my hand across it, it is made from a soft cotton and very pleasant to the touch. I took a seat on the couch after taking off my boots and set them to the side, threw the blanket over me and coat over that, and quickly fell asleep.


	4. Moving in

_Evan! Don't leave me!_

 _S-sorry, kid... but it'd be hard to just walk this off, heh... I'll come b-back though, I promise_

 _No...*sniff* You can't, it's not fair!_

 _Please don't cry, I'm telling y-you that I'll come ba-back... *cough, hack*_

 _Evan? *sniff* Evan?! Evaaan!_

 **Ekko POV**

I woke up in the middle of the night, or not, it's hard to tell, with a weird feeling in my side. I got up and put my coat on, only to finally figure out that the feeling was in one of my pockets, I dug into my left pouch and pulled out a pink pendant. It glowed in sync with the vibrations, and I had the sudden urge to touch it, when I did, a hologram of Bubblegum appeared. I dropped the pendant from getting startled so hard.

"Ah, Ekko, I'm so glad you found this." She said with a smile.

"Seriously? I thought you would want me dead." I replied.

The princess clicked her tongue, "No, I was expecting you to escape at some point. But I do need to ask a favor of you."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm done with you."

The broad nodded her head before letting me go back to sleep on this uncomfortable couch.

"Hey, you gonna get up?"

"Five more hours..." I grumbled.

"Then could you move? I wanna watch this show..."

I opened my eyes, Marceline must be an early riser. I stood up and quickly put my coat back on before propping myself on the couch, Marceline smiled and sat next to me. I took one glance at her before looking away in embarrassment, she wore black sweatpants and a white tank top. The problem? The shirt was a few sizes too big, so the neck hole was gateway enough for me to see her chest. Like two white grapefruits.

"So, who were you talking to this morning?" She asked.

I completely ignored her as I got up and looked for a coffee pot.

"Hey, I asked you a question!"

Found one, and something called 'Jamaican Blue Mountain'. I put the grounds in a paper cup and grabbed mug.

 **Marceline POV**

I waited until he turned to me, but before I could say anything, he held is finger up and chugged the coffee down.

"You done?" I asked, angry.

"Absolutely flippin' peachy. I got called by Bubblegum, via one of these." He pulled a pink pendat from his coat pocket.

I held my hand out and he gave me the pendant, giving Ekko a smirk, I crushed it in my hand. Ekko kept his cold expression, and I threw the crushed bits in the corner.

"You wanna do something?" I asked, floating over to my axe-bass guitar and plucking at the strings.

Ekko's face brightened up, so I decided to tell him my plan.

"There's this dungeon nearby that I wanted to check out. If you're up for it, that is." I said, raising a eyebrow.

"I'm ready, willing, and able!" He said.

"I'll be back in a few, don't go anywhere." I said after patting his head and floating back upstairs.

I quickly undressed down to my underwear and glanced over to the closet, pulling everything out from the drawers that looked appealing. Picking the clothes wasn't a problem, finding the easiest to wash was the real challenge, so I pulled a white button down shirt, ripped jeans, a long sleeved red and black striped shirt, and purple/yellow sneakers. I noticed the shirt on the floor, it wasn't that old, got it as a present from one of my ghost friends when I turned nine-hundred thirty-seven, a short sleeved black tee with a red anarchy 'A' printed on it. I probably wore it once or twice, but it was too big for me, it's made for guys. I tossed it downstairs and heard Ekko immediately dive after it, hitting his head against the wall. I giggled and went over to the bathroom, after giving my hair a nice combing and ponytail, I put on a sun hat and gloves before floating back downstairs, Ekko was partway through putting the shirt on, for a moment, I could see scars on his back going in snakelike patterns.

"Are you just going to stare at me?" Ekko asked, breaking me from my trance.

"What's with the scars? Aren't you 'quipped with some crazy healing factor?" I replied.

"Yeah, remember that I'm an experiment. I got tested on and the princess put a lot of things in me, magic spells and the like to make me one of the strongest fighters in OoO." He grabbed his swords from under the couch and continued, "She had to open me up so often that the scarring just... happened."

"I see..." I toned, "and that mark on your neck?"

Ekko chuckled and went over to the kitchen, "That's a story for another time."

He grabbed two apples and threw one to me, I caught it and drained the red from its skin. Tossing it back to Ekko, he caught it and tucked it in his pocket.

"You ready to go?" I asked, slipping my bass on my shoulder.

He nodded and followed me outside, I lifted him up and we flew over to the grass lands and into a forested section.

"Releasing the peppermint bomb!" I shouted.

I dropped Ekko while he whistles, and when I caught him seconds before he hit the ground, he made a explosion noise.

 **Ekko POV**

I looked up and saw a small house surrounded by apple trees.

"Why are we here?" I asked.

"I just wanted to say hi to a friend of mine, the dungeon isn't far from here." Marceline replied.

She dropped me on my back before floating to the house's front door. She knocked and it was opened by a small green elephant, who started a conversation.

"Marceline! It's so nice to see you." It said, old woman.

"Tree trunks, who's your pie business coming along?" Marceline replied while raising the elephant to eye level.

"Great! Everyone loves my pies, you know that~. Who's your friend?" Tree trunks asked.

I got up, brushed myself off, and bowed like a stage performer.

"Thy name is Ekko of the candy kingdom. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." I said.

The elephant walked up to me and did a little bow of her own.

"Nice to meet you, Ekko of the candy kingdom." She said.


	5. New strings

Now that introductions were out of the way, the tiny elephant invited us inside for tea. The house smelled like cinnamon and cooking apples, almost immediately after we walked inside, after Marceline took off her hat and gloves, a egg timer on the counter started going ballistic. Tree Trunks rushed over to the oven and put a mitt on her trunk, pulled out a pie, and placed the savory culinary concoction on the table. Marceline took some forks and knives from a cupboard. I took a seat across from her, eyeing mercilessly. She looked back after helping herself to a slice.

"Something wrong? You're staring holes into my head." She said, fork half out of her mouth.

"I thought we were heading somewhere fun, not a pie-eating contest." I answered.

She laughed, a few chunks of uneaten pie fly from her maw.

"I'm surprised you even know what that is!" Marceline exclaimed.

I scoffed, five years with nothing to do but study does things to you, not wonders, just... eeehhhhhhhhh...

A few minutes and a couple of pies later, we finally exited the house. Setting off to the east, we arrived at a large door in due time.

"This is the place?" I asked.

"This is the place." She replied.

The door was at least ten feet taller than me, made out of copper and noticeably old, green spots every which way, and with pictures of large men with horned helmets throwing up the horns.

'Rock-halla', read the words inscribed on the door. Guessing that this is some sort of hall for dead metalheads. After pushing the door open, the room around us suddenly illuminated with bright orange torches. We walked and passed through many rooms full of coffins and many skeletons littering the floor.

"What's the matter, scared?" Marceline teased, jabbing me in the side with her elbow.

"No, just unimpressed..." I lied.

While I might have a ridiculous healing factor that'll neutralize literally any feeling of danger I might have, the paranormal was something that always creeped me out. Not our undead patron, but stuff like ghost and walking skeletons, and considering what Marceline said about silver not working on her, it makes me consider if it works on any other form of the undead. Makes me wish I had Dawnbreaker right about now...

But aside from my inclining paranoia, this place was rather empty. But before I could say 'boooooooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrreeeeeddddddddddd' in my most whiny tone, a ghost appeared before us, Marceline stood unfazed while I tried to keep myself from jumping out of my skin.

"Who dares stalk the halls of the gods of metal?!" It shouted.

This guy looks familiar, a very muscular man with ridiculous pecs, black sleeveless leather jacket and t-shirt with a weird skull lookin' thing, blue jeans, long black mane of gelled hair, 5'o'clock shadow and a single strip of hair for a goatee, lanyard with an ID, giant battle axe and Flying-V guitar, and a bracelet of spikes.

"Well?" He shouted again.

"It's my fault." Marceline said, "I brought my friend here for celebration of his newfound freedom, but if it disturbs you, then we'll leave."

The ghost raised his hand, closing the door behind us, smirking while his eyes glowed yellow.

"Oh, you aren't leaving." He said, "If you wish to leave, you must beat me..."

He pulled his guitar from his back and plucked at the strings a bit.

"...IN A ROCK-OFF!"

Marceline and I audibly gulped as we traded glances. The ghost lost his grin and sighed.

"Look, Imma level with you guys, being the eternal guardian to a bunch of dead guys isn't fun, I just want to do something fun for my next eternity in this world. Who knows, I might even be able to pass on... You can leave." He said sadly.

I shook my head, "What do you want more? Eternity of boredom or being with your comrades in Rock-heaven?"

He looked up and smiled, he snapped his fingers and a guitar appeared in my hands.

"Then let's start the show!" He said before playing like a god.

Marceline pulled her bass and played along as I tried to keep up, I think I did alright, but I'm nothing compared to the ghost. I think that I was playing the role of a guy named Johnny, and the ghost played The Devil. The Devil was trying to dupe Johnny into playing a fiddle match with him, offering a golden fiddle as a reward and threatening to take Johnny's soul if he lost. Well, that sounds stupid, even if Johnny won, he gets a fiddle that sounds like crap, is too heavy and unwieldy to play, and is basically a giant neon sign reading 'I'M CARRYING A LARGE LUMP OF GOLD, PLEASE ROB MY DUMB ASS'! So even if Johnny won, The Devil comes out on top in the end... HOLY SHIT, I JUST OVERTHUNK THAT! After a intense performance, the ghost weeped happily.

"That was... that was... the most amazing thing I heard in centuries, CENTURIES!"

I nodded as the ghost ascend to the great beyond, where he can forever play the strings of metal to hopefully bring unity to the world, or maybe I'm overthinking that too. Soon after, a pale light shone through a hole in the wall. Revealing a rusted chest.

"You wanna open it?" I asked.

"And ruin my pedicure? No thanks." She said.

Rolling my eyes and mockingly said, 'women...', in my head. As I walked over to the chest, I ponder what might be inside. Gold? Weapons? Armor? No, what lies inside is...

"A guitar?" Marceline questioned, peering over my shoulder.

Yeah, a guitar. A admittedly awesome looking guitar, but still a guitar. It was a Flying V, the neck was ivory with 'Tenacious D' inscribed in obsidian, the head was white wood with two pieces pointed up with the tuners going up the side, two other wood pieces were curled downward. As for the base, when held in a position where you could read the writing on the neck properly, there were two fat guys with devil wings that made the top, the bottom looked like some old painting meant to depict hell. But that was the guitar itself, in the strings were a note, a pick, and some gloves. The gloves were white and fingerless, the pick was green and resembled a demon's skull, and the note read as:

"A tree from The Forest of Forgotten Souls,

Carved to a 'V' using demons' bones.

Painted with the blood of a succubus' wrist,

Sealed with a healthy coat of dragon Spit.

Six hairs strung from the heads of witches hung and what does thou have?

(You have the Axe!)

You have the Axe!"

'Maybe they're lyrics...', I thought to myself, but as I held that guitar, I suddenly had the urge to try it out. I pulled on the gloves and ran my index finger across the second thickest string and plucked with the pick. Goes to show how little I know about these things, but it felt right. In the distance, a low droning sound could be heard.

"Time to take this up a notch..." I mumbled before jumping and ran my hand across the strings, making a louder sound that kinda sounded like a 'Ker-waaaaaaaannnnnng!'

"Welcome y'all!" I screamed, before me, I could see the spirits of warriors long past.

"The flinch in your eyes caught your bluff!

Feel free to die when you've had enough!

Useless cause, it's breakin' your back...

Your life will end when you attack!

Make your move, make a stand...

Make your win, (Ha) like you can!

See this war, see me rule...

Behold a mirror, and you'll see a fool!"

Best thirty seconds of my life, outside of using a vacuum cleaner with a puffer fish on the end of it. You know what I'm talking about.


	6. The Sweetened Dead Pt 1

Marceline and I crashed on the couch immediately after walking through the door.

"Man, that was the most exhilarating thing I've ever done! It feels like I just busted out of prison." I panted.

Marceline blew a raspberry and produced an apple from her pocket, draining it of its color.

"That's because Bubblegum trapped you in a prison of rules, but you broke out and can now do whatever you want!" She replied.

We both raised our arms and did a little robot wave, "Rules are for fools! Rules are for fools! Save your stupid rulin' for fools that need some schoolin'!" We said in unison before bursting out laughing.

"You played pretty good... for a newbie." She said, lightly slugging my shoulder.

"Yeah, and I've never touched a guitar before..." I mumbled.

Marceline patted my shoulder and floated over to the kitchen, opening the fridge and leaning to look inside. Leaning in a way to give me a good view of her-

"Hey, any idea what we should do for lunch?"

Her voice broke me out of my trance, I slapped myself in the back of the head and tried to think of a response.

"What do we have?" Most basic of basics, nice job Ekko...

"Looks like we'll be heading out again, I'm thinking a dive..." She answered.

I shot up immediately, another chance to explore? Sign me the hell up! Well, maybe not that enthusiastically, but you get the idea. She floated upstairs and came back down with a purse colored a greyish blue and rose gold.

"I thought red would be more suitable..." I said.

She laughed at my comment, "If it was, this would be white."

I made a grump face while she dragged me into the sky and flew with the speed of a hawk on crack. The sun was already setting, coating the sky in a beautiful magenta and orange. I don't think I've ever seen a real sunset before, I'm the 'in bed at six' type. Forget ghost and a fancy guitar, this is the most amazing thing I've seen, at least for the moment.

"Enjoying the view?" Marceline called.

"More than I should!" I replied.

Saving this for the memory banks… done. It wasn't long before we reached our destination, what looked like a trailer park and a outdoor bar. Marceline dropped me from thirty feet above the ground, my face leaving an awestruck indentation in the ground.

"Are you okay, stranger?" A few passerby's asked.

I responded with a half-hearted thumbs up, in which they walked past me like it was a regular occurrence.

"Jerks..." Marceline mumbled as she helped me up.

"I know, just the worst..." I sarcastically whispered.

We walked over to the bar, took a seat, and waited for the bartender to serve us. A muscular man with reddish skin, well dressed, and an amazing mustache.

"What'll you two be having this evenin'?" He asked.

"I'll take the chilli fries, aaaannnnnnndddd..."

"Buffalo chicken strips, thank you." I cued in while the bartender parroted our order to his kitchen staff.

I gave a quick look to Marceline and did a little half smirk.

"Didn't know you where the mall babe type."

Marceline responded with a punch to the shoulder, good times.

"What's up with you and punching me when I make snarky comments?" I asked.

"What's up with you and making snarky comments?" Marceline retorts.

"Touché."

Food's here! The smell of liquidized chili peppers stung my nose, making my damndest to keep them from staining my clothes orange, I use a knife and a fork to save myself the trouble. Delicious... before setting my mouth ablaze with the heat of a thousand suns.

"You okay?" Marceline asked.

I respond with a weak smile before downing an entire river just to get the spice to end. No, I really didn't just drink a whole river, stop complaining.

"In all seriousness, I'd say fries are my favorite food. But I haven't had any ever since my dad ate the ones I made some... five hundred years ago, I wanna say." Marceline explained.

"Your dad ate your fries, so you lost your appetite for them for the last five hundred years?" I raised an eyebrow at that.

Marceline had this look on her face like she just realized how stupid that is. This was hilarious to me, for some reason. It gives me this weird sense of deja vu. We continued to eat and just talk about general happenings. I told her about my time locked in the princess's tower for the five years I've been alive. She told me a little about her ex and a couple of things that she did of the last millennium.

"...and then he laughed so hard that milk came out of his nose!" Marceline and I both laughed in unison, then we laughed some more, and then we laughed so hard we started crying.

She gave me a smile before patting my shoulder and placing some gold coins on the counter.

"You know, you're actually kind of a fun guy, what say we hang out full time?" Marceline preposed.

"Like... become roommates?" I asked.

"Something like that." Marceline grabbed my arm then flew us home.

I fell asleep early that night, best sleep I ever had. Freedom is the best drug.

A few months later

There was a knock at the door while we were eating lunch, grilled steak and steamed veggies.

"I'll get it." We said and stood unison, laughing afterwards.

"Let me." I said.

As I reach for the door, I hear a familiar high-pitched humming behind it. It's the butler!

"What're you doing?" Marceline asked, peering out of the kitchen.

"Make him go away!" I harshly whispered, hiding behind the couch.

They found me! How? How did they-?! No, you need to focus, Ekko. Marceline laughed at me and walked over to the door, greeting peppermint butler before asking him what he wants.

"The princess request Ekko's presence, some extra protection for an experiment." The walking peppermint said.

"And if I don't want to?" I asked.

"Then that is your decision."

So, in hopes of something exciting happening, I went with him. Marceline waved happily as I rode off with Pep.

"Things have changed since you left."

"Like what, the princess having to look into online dating?" I rudely asked.

The butler laughed before stopping.

"She's in the graveyard." He said before darting to the castle.

I looked up and saw two odd things, the princess's steed, Lady Rainicorn, and a large yellow bulldog chasing said Lady Rainicorn.

"Damn, wish I could get that big." I snarled before pulling my waistband.

Bubblegum was in her lab get up, doing some science crap on top of a stone slap. Next to her was a boy, I think to be around eleven, wearing a white hat with marshmallow stubs as ears, blue shirt and shorts, black shoes, and a green backpack. I could also see tufts of blonde hair poking from his hat.

"And we need to add just three drops of explosive diarrhea." She said before letting a few drips of the green liquid into the beaker.

A gas cloud formed around them in the shape of a skull.

"Hey, princess, if we use this thing on the dead candy people, will they be filled with worms?!" The boy said, making a really dramatic face.

"No, if my de-corpse-inator works correctly, they will look as young and healthy as..." Took her long enough, she's been working that formula like a dollar store tramp for weeks!

"As what, PB?" The boy asked before looking at me, my glorious white hair flowing in the breeze.

I kept my hands on my swords and walked slowly to them. The only thing I was missing was a tan trench coat, aviator shades, and a bad English dub.

"I didn't think you would show up." She said.

I look back and forth between these two, I didn't know PB was into underage boys.

"Who's he, your boyfriend?"

"W-w-w-what?!" The boy stammered before tugging on the princess's arm. "You know this guy?" He asked before looking at me worriedly.

"I... made him." She says.

"Where are we, a court room? There's already so much whispering."

They looked at me before faking some smiles, the boy introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Finn." He says.

"Finn, this is Ekko, he will provide protective assistance for tonight, in case something goes wrong." Bubblegum smiles my way, I only stare passive-aggressively.

"Maybe next time, let me introduce myself." I snarked.

Seriously, it hasn't even been five minutes and I'm already bored out of my mind! Is something exciting going to happen or what?! Thankfully, my prayers were answered when it seems that Bubblegum's experiment failed and started rising candy people from their graves. Smiling widley, I swung my swords around in a elegant but flamboyant fashion.

"No swords Ekko! We need to find a way to reverse this!" Bubblegum shouted.

"Fine, but you didn't say anything about punching them!" I shouted back before lunging at the nearest candy zombie, punching into its chest and ripping out its goopy green insides.

Bubblegum groaned as she picked up her stuff and ran for the castle. Another zombified candy man, a gumdrop, stood in my way. Ignoring Bubblegum's orders, I draw my swords and slice an X through the zombie, the pieces falling to the ground.

"I told you not to do that!" She shouted.

"It was either the zombie or you, I'd do the same thing if I had my sword with me." Finn defends me for some reason, might be useful if I can tell him my experiences here.

The boy, dog, Rainicorn, and I followed closely. Bubblegum ran up to the bell tower, calling all citizens to the castle.

"Alright, single file, people!/No pushing or shoving, move in an orderly fashion." Finn and I were calling in unison.

"Hey man, what's going on?" The bulldog from earlier walked up to the boy in blue, I'm guessing Finn's the owner.

"The princess will explain everything." Finn said.

I looked to see if anyone else was outside, the princess was running in a fast as she could in that dress, and Tree Trunks was here for some reason.

"Oh, Ekko. It's so good to see you again." She said.

She was holding a basket with steaming buns of sweet bread. The smell is intoxicating, but that's probably because I didn't finish lunch.

"Hey, TT. How've you been holding up?" I kneeled down to her level, Tree Trunks put her basket on the ground and shook my hand with her trunk.

"Thank you for asking, I've been well. I've been meaning to ask, but how's Marceline been doing?"

"Good, we're roommates now." I quickly say.

"Now just to count down until you replace room with soul." TT mumbled to herself before walking off with her basket.

PB and Finn shut the door before asking if everyone was present. Manfred, a piñata that functioned like a living security camera, gave us an all clear. I'm just hoping that PB doesn't freak out the candy folk to much, they explode when scared for some reason. I think it has more to do with stress than the actual fear, but that's just my interpretation.

"Citizens, We are assembled here in the candy foyer for a momentous announcement. Tonight, we are all going to have..." The princess called the attention of everyone in the room.

Please say zombie apocalypse, please say zombie apocalypse...

"A slumber party!"

Well, there goes actually having fun with our situation.

"Hey, but what about the-" Finn couldn't even finish his sentence before the princess slapped her hand over his mouth.

"Everyone start partying!" PB and I yelled out before she dragged us into the back room.

PB began to explain how the candy people exploded when scared, then forced Finn to royal promise her not to tell anyone about the candy zombies, can't wait to see how long it is until he fucks this up. He hastily exits the room, leaving me and PB alone.

"Ekko, I know that you won't forgive me for sealing you in that tower, but can you ple-"

"Sure, I needed something to do anyway." I said, cutting PB off and walking outside.

I stopped when she hugged me from behind, thanking me for understanding.

"Oh, I've been wondering, what kind of things are you and Marceline doing?" She asked.

"Sometimes we explore stuff, taking loot, selling what we don't need. When we get home, we play rock-paper-scissors to decide who makes dinner." I blandly answer.

"Do you like her?"

My eyes open wide and my face turns red. Why would you ask me that?! To be honest, I do have a deep appreciation of Marceline, after all, she saved me. I never would've made it out of that tower without her help. But liking her? I'm not sure. I mean, she is definitely attractive, her slim but curvy figure, the midnight black hair, and skin like the purest snow. But her eyes, they hold the pain of days long past in their crimson sea, and I see a affection for someone, a lost friend?

"I owe her a lot, that's all I'll say." I rasped before heading out to where Finn is.


	7. The Sweetend Dead Pt 2

I stepped back into the foyer to see Finn and his dog trying to keep the panic low, with very little success. Playing children's party games like truth or dare and pin the tail on the donkey. We quickly found out why you don't leave a child to take care of the children.

"Hey, Ekko! You should play truth or dare with us." The dog said.

Shit, I should've brought my guitar. At least I'd actually be able to have fun, but seeing as the sugar eaters outside are dying to come inside, I have little chances of getting out of this unscolded. So, without anything better to do, I take a seat next to the boy in the marshmallow hat.

"Don't think that this makes us friends, human." I say coldly, "I'm only doing this because there's nothing else that involves slashing."

The boy looked down in disappointment, while I did feel a little bad for being this rude to someone I barely know, I'll find a way to apologize later. We went clockwise from the strawberry woman, to the chocolate bar guy, and then the cupcake man spoke up.

"Ekko, truth or dare?" He asked.

"Truth." I answer as uninterested sounding as possible.

"Ok, tell us if you have romantic feelings for someone."

Oh, this again. Joy! Why did I get stuck with Marceline, she's getting further and further stuck into my mind. I... I'm not getting obsessed, am I?

"There's this girl, one that I live with. She's as beautiful as the full moon on a starless midnight. She's kind, funny, smart, resourceful, and makes the best steak in OoO." I said, every word as true as the sun rising.

"Ooh, what's her name?" Finn and the dog ask in unison.

"The goal was to admit that I had feelings for someone, not reveal their identity. Maybe next time, boys."

Everyone continued playing the game until Jake, the talking dog, dared Finn to spill the royal beans. To which he replied with the classic 'let's do something else' routine. I kept a permanent look of half shut eyes and a sly grin. Then there was a loud banging outside, the zombies finally shown up.

"Sounds like the party cavalry has arrived!" I shouted.

Finn then had the convenient idea to put blindfolds on everyone and give them whackin' sticks. Because the only way to make violence more fun is to include more people, which I think is what also makes orgies fun. I unsheathe my swords and swing them around in a flamboyant manner.

"Wow, those swords are so cool! Can I touch them?" Finn drools over my weapons.

"Come near me and I'll cut you." I hissed.

The candy zombies bashed their way through the boarded up windows that Finn set up. I smirked widely and waited, when the walls out the rim were surrounded with zombies.

"Let the wild rumpus start!" Finn shouted.

That's my cue, I slash through rotten dough and hardened coating. While it's not as cathartic as assault on a living thing, it's still fun. Seriously, maybe some of Marci's old heavy metal CD's, anything! I need high octane violence! This lousy techno beat isn't doing anything for me, not crazy enough. But we kill every zombie that dared to enter the castle, unfortunately and like a dumbass, Finn told his dog about the zombies. This caused time to 'Za Warudo' our asses, Bubbles ran out from her lab, demanding to know what the hell just happened.

"Dumbass over here can't keep his mouth shut." I said, pointing my thumb to Finn.

"What did I tell you about breaking royal promises?!" Bubblegum shouted.

"But... a-all of the zombies are dead..."

"Not an excuse, now the promise guardians are gonna make our asses grass. Thanks a lot, moron!" I shouted.

Alright, let's take a step back and reassess, yeah? I've been gone for two months and this is what I come back to? The princess is practically whoring herself out to whoever can use a flat piece of wood correctly. Somehow this moronic child has won her favor? I feel insulted. Just let me go home.

The ceiling fell apart as something massive reached inside, grabbed us in one scoop.

"Great, now I'm gonna die next to my two least favorite people. What a waste of my Saturday." I growled.

"Hey, you can't speak to the princess that way!" Finn yelled.

"Kid, I get that you want to fuck her, but you don't need to build her a worshiping altar." I snidely retort.

The promise guardian lifted us from the foyer, a decent forty-seven feet off of the ground.

"Finn the Human, you have broken the royal promise!" No shit, Sherlock! "The penalty is... trial by fire!"

"Yes!" I shouted.

The human and princess shot me a dirty look before Bubblegum spoke up.

"Wait, isn't there another way? He had no knowledge of the consequences!"

Damn it, woman! Don't ruin this!

"Well, we suppose there is another option. Because you show such concern for the human, we shall give him a less... hot trial." The guardian said robotically.

I groaned loudly as the guardians made Finn answer math of all things, causing us to get off scott free. Though if this kid is going to have trouble with two plus two, he isn't gonna make it far.

"Thank you both for helping us fix this mess." Bubblegum gave the two of us a pat on the back.

"Not a problem, Princess! I'm always happy to kick some butt!" Finn excitedly states.

"Call me when something important comes up. Don't waste my time with this nonsense." I hiss as I walk towards the door.

As I make my leave, a thought crosses into my mind. I need to test the boy, see how he reacts to fighting something with a functioning brain.

"Okay, what is your problem, man?! You've done nothing but insult us every chance you get." The boy grabs my shoulder.

In a quick motion, I grip his wrist tightly and twist his arm away from him. His squeals of pain are obnoxious, but satisfying.

"I don't remember giving you permission to touch me, you pathetic brat." I lean in close and whisper into his ear. "Do that again, and you're gonna lose an arm."

I push the kid away, he holds and blows on his wrist.

"Ekko, what did you do that for?!" Bubblegum demands.

Suddenly, the spark struck oil. I know what I need to do.

"You know, 'mother'..." My voice lowers a bit and I dip my head so my bangs cover my eyes. "I think it's about time you step down, I'll be taking my rightful place..."

I quickly draw my swords and dash towards her.

"And usurp the throne!"

Before my blades could connect, a clang made itself heard and a piece of metal caught itself with my sword.

"What are you, crazy? Were you evil all along?!" Finn yelled, pushing me back.

"Crazy? Might as well be, considering your girlfriend locked me in the tower for five years!" I shout, a deranged grin on my face. "It's only right that I get my revenge this way!"

BGM: The Only Thing I Know For Real - Crossing Blades mix

The boy let out a cry and charged me, when his sword was but an inch from my face, I side stepped and swung with my left hand. He immediately caught it and tried to push. I'm done playing coy, I'm gonna have some fun.

"Better show me a good time, Finn!" I said as I pushed him back and let loose a relentless onslaught of slashes.

While he tried his best to block my swings, the cuts I made were taking their toll.

"No!" His dog shouted as he came to the boys aid.

"Two against one? That's hardly fair!" I sarcastically shouted as I laughed manically.

This raises the threat level from zero to zero times two. The dog enlarged his fist and delivered a cross punch. I blocked the strike, my swords cutting into his paw. Jake immediately winced in pain and jumped back.

"You jerk!" Finn yelled, grabbing another sword off the wall and swinging as hard as he could.

"Oh, this'll get unpleasant!" I laugh.

We swing our swords in rapid succession, the dog decided to tag in and kicked me away from his master.

"Hardy's gonna hate me for this." I mumble as the dog got into striking range.

I kicked the dog right in the face, his nose squishing around my boot to humorous effect. The impact launched him through a wall.

"Woo!" I shouted.

While I was distracted, Finn ran up and stabbed me in the stomach with one of his swords.

"I can't believe you! First you help us, now you..."

I start chuckling, and that quickly becomes a howling cackle.

"Yes, get angry! Use that anger and kill me! Prove that you are about as competent as the princess believes you to be!" I pull the sword out of me, blood stains the floor while my skin and clothes mend themselves, try and figure that one out.

"You're not human?" Finn asks.

"Slow one, aren't you? Who knows? Not even sure, myself."

I throw his sword to the ground and dart forward, swinging my swords, the sound of steel clashing is like music to my ears.

"Hmm, self taught, and not half bad. Still..."

I knock the boy into the air and prepare to swing again, he raises his blade to defend himself. The shockwave causes him to be launched to the other side of the room.

"Your technique lacks something." I mused.

I dig my swords into the ground and rush forward, Finn meets me halfway and swings hard. My swords cut right through it.

"Say goodnight!" I shout.

Punching him hard enough to knock him out, Finn drops down to the floor like a poorly thrown sack of bricks. I point my sword to his neck and pause for a moment.

"Fuck this, I can't kill a kid." I sheath my swords and turn around. "Come find me after you graduate, and I'll school you again."

Shooting the princess a glare, I take my leave.

"Get one that doesn't break easy next time."

 **Marceline's POV, three hours later**

The door creaks as Ekko returns, he sighs before throwing his coat and swords on the couch.

"Long night?" I ask.

"Well, it certainly was interesting. I got to slay zombies and beat the shit out of an eleven year old." He answers.

"Sounds fun, shame I wasn't there."

He looks at me briefly before looking away, his face evidently red.

"Something wrong?"

"Well, while I was holed up in the castle... I was playing truth or dare with the people inside, I was asked to reveal if I had any feelings for anyone..." He said.

My face goes a little red, that really got my attention.

"W-What did you tell them?"

He looked at me, the middle of his face is completely red.

"I didn't say a name, but I completely described you..." He sounds upset.

Me? Why me?

"What did you say, exactly?" I asked.

"That you're as beautiful as a starless midnight. That you're kind, funny, smart, and resourceful." He quickly blurts.

Well, he's not wrong. I slowly walk up to him and hug him. It takes a minute, but he slowly raises his arms and hugs me back.

"I'm glad you think so." I whisper.

Should I kiss him? Maybe just a peck on the cheek for now. He stares at me, I can't help but smile.

"How about we try to make some music?" I ask.

"You know I'm always up for it." Ekko says as he goes behind the couch to retrieve his guitar.

As he does this, I float upstairs and nab a keyboard synthesizer. Ekko was already getting his plucking fingers ready.

I had recorded a little riff that sounds like a deranged man snuck into a church a while ago, soon, the music took us over and we began to play.

"In sleep he sang to me

In dreams he came

That voice which calls to me

And speaks my name

And do I dream again?

For now I find

The Phantom of the Opera is there

Inside my mind..." I sang.

After a short guitar riff, Ekko began to sing.

"Sing once again with me

Our strange duet

My power over you

Grows stronger yet

And though you turn from me

To glance behind

The Phantom of the Opera is there

Inside your mind..."

"Those who have seen your face

Draw back in fear

I am the mask you wear"

"It's me they hear!" Ekko cut in.

"Your/My spirit and my/your voice

In one combined

The Phantom of the Opera is there

Inside..." We sung in unison.

Then we shifted the tone.

"Beware the Phantom of the Opera!"

"He's there, the Phantom of the Opera!"

As I started hitting high notes, Ekko continued singing.

"Sing my Angel of Music!

Sing my Angel!

Sing for me!

Sing my Angel!

Sing!

Sing my Angel, sing!

Sing for me!"

I surprised my voice didn't crack during this entire song, as we reached the climax of my soprano. Pretty sure I've never hit high notes like this, normally I just sing in a mellow voice. But now? Now I feel as if I can be truly passionate towards my music, with Ekko, we can be the most renowned musicians in OoO.


End file.
